THE DAILY GOSPEL AND READINGS 7 JUNE 2013

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Lectionary: 172

Thus says the Lord GOD:I myself will look after and tend my sheep.As a shepherd tends his flockwhen he finds himself among his scattered sheep,so will I tend my sheep.I will rescue them from every place where they were scatteredwhen it was cloudy and dark.I will lead them out from among the peoplesand gather them from the foreign lands;I will bring them back to their own countryand pasture them upon the mountains of Israelin the land’s ravines and all its inhabited places.In good pastures will I pasture them,and on the mountain heights of Israelshall be their grazing ground.There they shall lie down on good grazing ground,and in rich pastures shall they be pasturedon the mountains of Israel.I myself will pasture my sheep;I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.The lost I will seek out,the strayed I will bring back,the injured I will bind up,the sick I will heal,but the sleek and the strong I will destroy,shepherding them rightly.

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.In verdant pastures he gives me repose;beside restful waters he leads me;he refreshes my soul.R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.He guides me in right pathsfor his name’s sake.Even though I walk in the dark valleyI fear no evil; for you are at my sidewith your rod and your staffthat give me courage.R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.You spread the table before mein the sight of my foes;you anoint my head with oil;my cup overflows. R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.Only goodness and kindness follow meall the days of my life;and I shall dwell in the house of the LORDfor years to come.R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Brothers and sisters:The love of God has been poured out into our heartsthrough the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.For Christ, while we were still helpless,died at the appointed time for the ungodly.Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,though perhaps for a good personone might even find courage to die.But God proves his love for usin that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.How much more then, since we are now justified by his blood,will we be saved through him from the wrath.Indeed, if, while we were enemies,we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son,how much more, once reconciled,will we be saved by his life.Not only that,but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ,through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes:“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of themwould not leave the ninety-nine in the desertand go after the lost one until he finds it?And when he does find it,he sets it on his shoulders with great joyand, upon his arrival home,he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’I tell you, in just the same waythere will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repentsthan over ninety-nine righteous peoplewho have no need of repentance.”